Pont Marie

Pont Marie features five stone arches decorated with unique masks and reliefs, distinguishing it from every other crossing on the Seine. Completed in sixteen thirty-five, it is the oldest stone bridge in Paris. Builders originally constructed houses directly on the bridge, a common practice of the time. During a massive flood in sixteen fifty-eight, the central arches collapsed, pulling twenty-two houses into the river and drowning dozens of residents. Today, the stone remains, stripped of its buildings, leaving a wide, quiet path across the water.